Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

louiseculmer A generally disappointing film of Audrey Erskine Lindop's gripping and atmospheric thriller. The book is so much richer and more interesting than this rather bland film. The book has well rounded characters, entertaining dialogue, and a clever plot with many twists and turns. The film oversimplifies the story and completely changes the ending for instance. And while it is easy to see why Len's twin sister has been eliminated (although a good character, she is not really vital to the plot), reducing Len's role to practically nothing completely alters the story, since in the book his interactions with Wynne are a vital part of the plot. And the narrative voice which plays such an important part in the novel, as Wynne describes what is happening and reflects on it, is of course missing, the major drawback of many films of the book. The film also fails completely to capture the character of George, or show convincingly why Wynne is so devoted to him. And the very dramatic climax of the story, with the poignant court scene at the end, is lost. The filmmakers have decided not to bother too much about plot or characters, and simply concentrate on lovingly filming the admittedly gorgeous Jenny Agutter, with all the subtlety of a Cadburys Milk Flake advert. A great disappointment.

Coventry I truly love those typical 'rural' British thrillers from the late 60's and early 70's! They practically always revolve on hugely controversial topics and feature heavy macabre undertones, and yet they remain very stylish, sophisticated and classy. A couple of notorious examples include "Unman, Wittering and Zigo", "Deadly Strangers", "Crescendo", "Girly", "Twisted Nerve" and some of Hammer's lesser promoted thrillers like "Never Take Candy from Strangers" and "Paranoia". David Greene's "I Start Counting" is also an excellent addition to this list. The principal coming-of-age story is basically already an anathema, but then this plot is simultaneously interwoven with a grim tale of a serial killer on the loose in a small picturesque British village. I was already a great fan of the lovely Jenny Agutter thanks to "An American Werewolf in London" and "Logan's Run", but after seeing this film she's truly immortal to me. Agutter gives away a stellar tour-de-force performance as the cherubic and curious 14 year old Wynne. The romantically inexperienced pubescent girl has a tremendous crush on her 32 year old foster brother and openly talks about her feelings with her school friend Corinne, who claims to have had sex with several boys already. During all her secretly observing and spying, Wynne begins to suspect, however, that her beloved brother George might be the maniac responsible for several gruesome yet unsolved murders. Where do the nail scratches on his back come from? Why are there bloodstains on the white sweater that Wynne made for him? Strangely enough, the more convinced Wynne gets regarding her brother's guilt, the more her feelings grow intense and obsessive. The young girl even convinces herself that she must rescue George, as the rest of the world won't understand him. "I Start Counting" is a slowly unfolding, captivating and often uncomfortable film that is made even more excellent thanks to the wondrous use of music like the title song (although some fans of the genre might not like this), beautiful images of the South-East British countryside and great work from the ensemble cast. The thriller elements surprisingly go well with the coming-of-age theme. The serial killer plot is occasionally very creepy, whereas Wynne's extreme devotion for her brother is also quite disturbing but in a completely different way. "I Start Counting" absolutely is a unique film; what they call a real gem of a great but sadly forgotten cinematic era. It pleases me to see that the film nevertheless has a few devoted fans here on this site.

moonspinner55 Interesting and attractive ambiance in place of a plot. Adaptation of Audrey Erskine-Lindop's novel concerning a Catholic schoolgirl in working-class Berskhire who is drawn to the now-abandoned first house she lived in with her adoptive family; she also harbors a secret crush on her foster-brother, whom she believes may be a sex-slayer wanted by police, and proceeds to cover up his suspicious tracks while dreaming of a more intimate relationship. In the lead, open-faced, yearning Jenny Agutter has wonderfully wide, girlish eyes and shy smiles; from the opening montage of her daily early-morning routine, Agutter connects with the audience immediately, and she's a joy to follow throughout this character study-cum-psychological drama. Producer-director David Greene is alternately subtle and heavy-handed, telegraphing a few story-points well ahead of schedule, but his lazily-flowing narrative is enticing in an ethereal way. The film has nimble editing and a sing-song theme, yet the screenplay is a real obstacle. While packing so much text and subtext into the first hour, the second-half of the picture comes up short on steam. Nevertheless, quite unusual, with haunting, lovely moments and a solid cast. ** from ****

williamhepburn It is a good few years since I last saw this movie but the memory lingers on. I first saw it as a teenager a couple of times but haven't been able to catch it since. Boy it sure was creepy. The whole cast are excellent throughout. Has British television forgotten about this fantastically creepy movie. With the proliferation of movie channels now available surely one of them can secure the rights to show it. It would be even better if it was released on DVD.